KT Jaleel is an Indian politician, who resigned as the higher education minister of Kerala on Tuesday. The 53-year-old was found guilty of nepotism, favouritism, abuse of power and violation of oath of office, reported news agency ANI. 

Jaleel is a Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) from Thavanur. He previously served as Kerala’s minister for local administration. The former minister was also in charge of the Welfare of Minorities, Waqf and Hajj ministries.

Born on May 30, 1967, Jaleel completed his primary education in Valanchery while studied for secondary education in Kuttipuram. He owns an M Phil degree from the University of Calicut and a PhD from Kerala University. 

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His political career began with him contesting the state assembly election as an independent candidate with the support of Left Front Democratic (LDF). He was elected as an MLA for the first time in 2006 from the Kuttipuram constituency. 

In the next election, he contested from the Thavanur constituency and won that as well. He was re-elected from the constituency with a majority of over 17,000 votes in the 2016 assembly polls. 

He has held several positions in the past, including general secretary, Kerala State Muslim Youth League and chairman, Standing Committee on Education.

Jaleel faced backlash for appointing his cousin as the general manager of Kerala State Minorities Development Finance Corporation (KSMDFC). PK Firos of the Indian Union Muslim League accused Jaleel of nepotism, after which he was found guilty of the same. He has also been accused of playing role in the 2018 Kerala gold smuggling case.